Parnassus Investments, an investment management company, released the “Parnassus Core Equity Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, U.S. stocks rose, closing up a robust 2024. The Fund (Investor Shares) surged 0.28% (net of fees) in the quarter underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s 2.41% return. For the year, the fund returned 18.52% (net of fees) compared to S&P 500 Index’s 25.02%. Stocks soared after the U.S. presidential election as investors awaited the incoming administration’s business-friendly policies. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Parnassus Core Equity Fund emphasized stocks such as Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG). Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG) is a plumbing and heating products distributor. The one-month return of Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG) was -13.68%, and its shares lost 24.21% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On March 11, 2025, Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG) stock closed at $156.98 per share with a market capitalization of $31.39 billion.
Parnassus Core Equity Fund stated the following regarding Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“We also added Industrials sector holding Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG), a leading distributor of plumbing supplies and construction equipment. Ferguson’s highly efficient operations, extensive distribution networks and broad product offerings give the company clear leadership over smaller, local competitors. Ferguson’s scale advantages are expected to increase as it consolidates the fragmented industry structure. Additionally, the structural tailwinds of aging infrastructure and housing shortages should support Ferguson’s long-term organic growth. Led by a tenured management team with a strong track record, the company is well positioned going forward, we believe.”
A busy warehouse stocked with a variety of industrial plumbing parts.
Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 72 hedge fund portfolios held Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 62 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we discussed Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:FERG) and shared the list of large-cap stocks with insider buying in 2025. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.